Display device



R. MEADER DISPLAY DEVICE Aug. 2, 1932.

Filed Sept. 5. 1951 V w filly/Wander Patented Aug. 2, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOY MEADER, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNoR 'ro THE A. NASH ooMrANY,"

on CINCINNATI, OHIO, A oonronATIoN or oIIIo DISPLAY DE ICE This invention relates to a device for-displaying cloth or fabric.

An object of the invention is to provide a device whichmay be readily attached to 5 and detached from a supporting member and which is designed to hold a section of cloth in such a Way and at such an angle that an impression may be gained of the appearance of the cloth as it would be in a finished article of Wearing apparel. v 7

Another object'is to provide a device of the kind described which is free of sharp projecting parts which might injure the cloth held thereby.

Another object is to provide a display device the attachment part of which may be applied to other display boards and to other similar devices. a i 1 Another object is to produce a Simple and efficient article of the class described-fat a minimum of cost. These andother objects are attained by the means described herein and set forth'in the accompanying drawing, in which: 1

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of the display board of the present invention.

F ig. 2 is a front elevational view of the same. V

Fig. 3 is across sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 4; is a side elevational View of two of the devices of this invention supported adjacent to a wall in a manner in which the devices are preferably utilized for display purposes. i p

, The present device is adapted to overcome the disadvantages of previous similar dis play means the use of which entailed considerable wrinkling of the fabrics displayed thereon. In such previous devices it has been necessary to gather or bunch the material at the rear of some supporting device, a common type of which was provided with a central column or'standard upon which the display board was attached, and around which the material was tied or otherwise fastened. A still commoner method has been to simply drape large portions of'the fabric over some suitable rack positioned upon a table or the like. These and similar methods not only resulted-inwrinkling and soiling of the materials displayed but likewise required considerable space. In order to overcome these and similar disadvantages the present invention provides a single elongated display board having an attachment means at its upper end and adapted to he slipped over the top edge of a support bar orboard attached to and offset from a wall. The board is adapted to be covered with a limited amount of fabric but nevertheless sufiicient to give an impression of the material as it might appearin the finished article. 'The devices when attached extend angularly from the wall surface so'thatthe light is received at a favorable angle. Due to the fact that the material is attached in a flat condition, no wrinkling results. Moreover, due to the shape of the display board and to the type of supporting means, the devices of this invention may be positioned side by side in a great number and in a doublerow along the wall, so that by their use considerable space-saving is effected.

With reference to the drawing: the device of the present invention comprises'an elongated Smooth' board 5 which has its edges, corners, and surfaces suitably smoothed to prevent injury to the fabrics attached to the board. The front face 6 of the board is ventirely plain and smooth. The rear face 7 of the board. is provided with an attachment clamp 8. This member is preferably formed of a resilient metal strip formed to provide a top flange 9 beneath which the metal is given a U-shaped bend to provide the flange portion 10. Thereafter the strip is straight enedout into spaced parallelism with the flange 9, this elongated portion 11 and the clamp flange 9 being disposed at an angle to the portionlO. The metal strip is further bent as at 12, carried backwardly and bent again as at 13 to provide the bottom flange 14 which lies in the same plane as the top portion 10. A filler block 15 is adapted to be placed within the large opening of the clamp member thus formed, the rear edge'16 of the filler block being disposed in the same plane as the flange 14 and the portion 10 of the flange. Suitable securing means such as the nail 17 may be used to retain the filler block in place.

The clamp member 8 is attached to the central portion at the top of one face of the board 5. For this purpose the portion 10, flange 14, and rear edge 16 of the filler block 15 are placed against the face ofv the board and secured in position by means of screws 18 passing through perforations provided in the portion 10 and flange 14 of the clamp.

It will be seen by reference to Fig. 4 that the device of this invention is adapted to be ositioned upon horizontally Boards 19 attached to supporting wall 20. The uppermost of the boards 19 is only slightly s aced from the wall While the lowermost of t e boards is spaced outwardly by use of a suitable extension piece 21. In positioning the dis lay board of this invention, the top edge 0 the device is slidably positioned upon the top edge of the supporting boards 19, at which time the flange 9 lies flush against the rear face of the supportin board and the elongated portion 11 lies flush against the outer face of the supporting board. Inasmuch as the greatest'weight of the device is disposed below the clamp, a sufficient leverageaction to insure proper positioning is operative upon the flange 9 and the. portion 1 1 of the clamp. The display device thus positioned projects outwardly in the manner shown in Fig. 4. It will likewise be seen that in the preferable positioning of the device, the tops of the lowermost row of display boards extend outwardly beyond the bottom edge of the row above. In this way an attractive and space-saving arrangement is effected. The dotted lines in Fig. 4 indicate a desirable way of draping fabric upon the 7 display device. A section of the fabric is stretched over the front face 6 of the board 5 and allowed to hang downwardly below the display board so that an extensive View of the fabric may be obtained. The fabric may be attached to the board in any suitable way, such as by the use of thumb tacks. All gathering and wrinkling of the fabric is avoided. It is apparent that should a customer desire'to handle the selected piece of material, the display device may be instantly removed from place, and as readily returned when desired. It is further obvious that the clamp member 8 may be used upon display boards of different sizes and likewise upon other articles which it may be desirable extending bent to provide a clamp portion adapted to slidably engage the top edge of the supporting strip, and an elongated portion adapted to bear against the front face of the supporting strip, said clamp and elongated portions being parallel and projecting downwardly and outwardly of the board for holding the board, during operative condition of the device, in a similar position relative to the supporting strip. r

2. A device for displaying fabrics and adapted to be positioned upon the top edge ofa: horizontal supporting strip disposed vertically as to its width, said device comprising a fabric-holding board and an attachment member secured to one face of the board at the top thereof and providing a clamp portion adapted to slidably engage the top edge of the supporting strip and an abutment portion disposed angularly relative to the board and adapted to abut the front face of the supporting strip for holding the fabric-holding board at a similar angle relative to said strip.

3. A device for displaying fabrics and adapted to be positioned upon the top edge of a horizontal supporting strip disposed vertically as to its width, said device comprising afabric-holding board and an attachment member secured to one face of the board at the top thereof and consisting of a metal strip bent at each end to provide an angularlyextending portion terminating in a flange, said extending portions being of unequal length and said flanges being perforated and adapted to be disposed in a common plane, the metal strip being further bent, beyond the flange of the shorter extending portion, to provide a clamp flange projecting beyond and overhanging the body portion of the metal strip in parallel relation therewith and disposed upon the side opposite said aforementioned flanges, the attachment member so formed being adapted to be fastened to said board by securing means passing through said perforated flanges, and the clamp formed by said clamp flange and the intermediate portion of the metal strip being adapted to engage the top edge of said supporting strip for holding said board in a downwardly pro ecting angular position relative to the supporting strip.

4;. As a new article of manufacture, a clamp adapted for use upon an upright supporting member having an upwardly-facing free edge, said clamp being formed of a metal strip bent to provide angularly-extending portions of unequal lengths and projecting in the same direction, said portions being each bent outwardly to form a pair of flanges adapted to be disposed in a common plane, the strip beyond the flange of the shorter extending portion,being bent oppositely to said portion and formed at the end to provide a clamp flange overhanging and in spaced relation with the body portion of the strip, said clamp flange being adapted to engage the rear and the strip body the front of an upwardlyfacing edge portion of the upright supporting member for holding said out-bent flanges 5 in a plane extending downwardly at an angle to the plane of the supporting member, and means for securing an object to said out-bent flanges whereby the objectmay be held at an angle to the supporting member.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a

clamp adapted for use upon an upright support board, said clamp comprising a metal strip bent to provide two angularly-extending portions of unequal length and projecting in the same direction, means for attaching an object to the projecting ends of said extending portions, and a flanged member projecting from said strip adjacent and in an opposite direction to the shorter of said extend- 2% ing portions, the flange of said member and said strip being adapted to slidably engage between them an upper edge portion of said support board for holding at an angle to said board the object held by said extending portions.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 29th day of August,

ROY MEADER. 

